SemaThera Inc. announced the signing of a multi-year research collaboration and licensing agreement with Roche. The partnership will focus on developing SemaThera’s promising new class of biologicals for the treatment of diabetic retinopathy and other ischemic retinal diseases.
“We are very enthusiastic about combining our knowledge of the underlying biology of novel Semaphorin 3A antagonists with Roche’s expertise in the development and commercialization of innovative biologicals in ophthalmology. We are therefore excited to work together with Roche to pave the way for novel treatment options that may have the potential to benefit patients that currently have few or no options,” said Garth Cumberlidge, Ph.D., CEO of SemaThera. “By supporting blood vessel regrowth into avascular areas of the retina and preventing excessive VEGF production and neovascularization, we aim to provide patients with a potentially disease-modifying treatment for retinal ischemia.”
“Discovering and developing novel drugs for the treatment of serious retinal diseases such as diabetic retinopathy is one of our focus areas within ophthalmology,” said James Sabry, Global Head, Roche Pharma Partnering. “We are looking forward to working together with SemaThera to explore the full potential of these novel biologics in addressing an area of high unmet medical need.”